open ✧ a head full of stars, just not in constellation yet

[realists]

Who: Jyn & y'all
Where: Home & Around (Go Ask Alice, work, running)
When: June 28-July 3
What: Surprise Jyn's not dead anymore
Warnings: Mentions of past character death in passing

[Open]

--

✧ ʜᴏᴍᴇ & ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛᴏᴡɴ

Jyn doesn't venture very far that first day -- between Cassian's house and her own is about the size of it -- but once she is home she settles on the front porch with a cup of tea (hot, she doesn't believe in iced tea) and just looks at the town from her porch.

The days following finds her more adventurous, returning to her normal business. She goes back to work with Peter's exterminator business, cleaning up what remains of the carcasses of rodents around town. It's disgusting. She drops in Go Ask Alice for her lemon cookies that she suggests they just rename "Jyn's Lemon Cookies", settling at a table by the window to carefully construct elaborate and downright absurd mathematical puzzles for Mary. Not a single one of them is age appropriate for a seven year old but it doesn't seem to stop Jyn from designing them with what she learned from her father. She starts her daily runs again -- morning and night -- though now she actually does steer clear of the woods, observing the mess of the town as she passes, sneakers pounding against the pavement steadily.

It's business as usual.

Comments

cassian ( closed )

[realists]

Well, you died, sweetie is uncomfortable knowledge to take in but at the same time it's not like it's the first time it's happened to Jyn. No one had told her last time that she'd died, but she'd figured that out on her own. This time the nurses come right out with it with little prompting.

On one hand, thanks. On the other hand, no thanks.

This time Jyn has her clothes with her, neatly folded on the visitor's chair, and she yanks them on quickly, even as the nurse is cheerfully telling her that her friend brought them over while she was out. She doesn't miss the emphasis on friend. She does, however, ignore it.

Once she's dressed, Jyn heads out of the hospital, blinking into the sunlight and dragging a hand through her hair, wishing for something to tie it up with. Instead it remains down as she stops just outside the doors, watching Cassian heading toward her at the same time. Of course he's here.

[ouzel]

Junyoung called him when Jyn appeared in her room, and Cassian made himself obnoxious enough just to get her a change of clothes into her room; after that, he's back to where he'd been when his roommate had extended the offer six days prior. That is, pacing the parking lot, looking as though a cigarette hanging from between his lips would not be amiss.

Yet even with that obvious nervous energy Cassian's hands stay in his pockets, his eyes level. There's no twitching, no fidgeting, and when the doors open and Jyn steps out, he simply reorients himself to head her way.

His eyes move even when the rest of him remains painfully still, a week of stress and distress, of bad sleep and what-ifs have taken their toll. He looks tired, he's sure. He honestly feels worse than tired.

Not that it matters. "Hey, Jyn. How do you feel?"

[realists]

There he is, waiting for her. Looking like he's been waiting for her the whole time, lines settled into his weary face, shadows like bruises under his eyes, but he's still the most beautiful man she's ever known, and something in her settles. None of this is right, not this place, not somehow being alive, not even being mixed up with people from a future they were never going to get to live.

But striding over to him, Jyn doesn't care. One thing is right.

She doesn't answer as she approaches, doesn't say anything at all, barely slowing down until she is right in front of him. Her hands fly to his face, warm and alive, and she presses her mouth to his, eager and insistent and ungraceful, releasing an eternity of tension, fear, and loss in its wake. What a rare new pleasure, to simply exist without the crush of war surrounding them, to have time again. Time she had wasted before now.

The bristles of new beard on his cheeks makes a wobbly smile settle on her expression when she draws back, breathing in the familiarity of his embrace. "I'm sorry."

[ouzel]

He wouldn't call it shock, exactly, the feeling that overtakes him when she reaches up towards his face. More like an acceptance that had steeped into his bones at some point and radiated outwards. He doesn't expect her to kiss him, but it only take a blink for him to get with the program on that front, so Cassian's hands end up at the small of Jyn's back and he's breathing a little heavier than he was before she started by the time she pulls away.

There's no shame in pressing his lips together with a thin sort of smile in response to her wobbly one and immediately folding himself into her, bending down and pressing her close as his face hides in the crook of her neck.

"You're forgiven." He doesn't even know what, exactly, she's apologizing for and in all honesty he'd been bracing himself for another round of 'I'm fine, we're dead, I'm fine' so. It hits him in the chest, a bit, and the next breath he takes in shakes a little.

[realists]

The scruff of his in need of a shave beard tickles her skin when he buries his face against her neck and Jyn can't help the breath of a laugh that escapes as her arms curl around his back, one hand tangling through his hair, cradling the back of his neck. She can feel the crystal of her necklace crushed between them, and again she is struck with the memory of their embrace on Scarif.

This is better.

It's always better, but this is better.

Even though they're in public and Jyn is vehemently opposed to any kind of public display of affection, she doesn't make any effort to put a stop to this, holding on as if for dear life. "Thanks for my clothes."

[ouzel]

"Medical gowns aren't flattering in this culture. In most cultures, actually." It's meant to be an easy thing, a throwaway comment, but. Her hands are cold, they are always cold, and against the back of his neck and up into his hair and so maybe because of that or maybe entirely unrelated to it, his voice is rough and catches at the end of the sentence. "It never stopped me from leaving, but there were definitely times I wished someone had enabled me just a little," he adds, because he doesn't want to leave it at his sad excuse for a story and he's not sure when is a good time to share odd windows into the lives they have now managed to outlive.

Kay had been of the opinion that Cassian needed to spend more time in medical facilities, not less.

Cassian's face hasn't managed to move from it's current position against her neck except to allow him to speak and breathe without too much of a struggle, but after another good half a minute he has to bring himself to full height again - his spine is an unhappy bit of bones at the moment.

"Do you want an update?" He takes a breath and shakes his head just a little. "I understand if you don't, but." You know me goes unspoken. A spy doesn't stop gathering information just because the warzone is unfamiliar.

poe ( closed )

[realists]

The walk is fairly short and the weather is nice, early enough to be cool instead of the oppressive summer heat she still hasn't gotten used to -- she's never spent any long periods of time on such a warm planet. Even Takodana was more temperate, shaded by the lush forests.

Pushing open the door like she owns the place, Jyn moves right into the kitchen. It is her favorite place in the house and almost always her first stop when she's over. Spotting Poe, she holds out her hands to her sides as if to say 'come at me bro'. This is a one time only offer, he will never get it again. If he wants to hug Jyn Erso he has to act right the kriff now or relinquish his one and only chance.

"Do your worst, Dameron."

[volitaunt]

Alive. There she is, hale and whole.

Poe was in the process of making tea. The kettle is just starting to whistle, and it's possible he got down literally every box of tea that Cassian owns because he wanted to make sure Jyn had her choice. The counters looks like a miniature shipping depot.

There she is, alive and well and for a second he's not sure what she's telling him to do.

But then he gets it. And he grins. And he crosses the kitchen and sweeps Jyn Erso up in his arms and lifts her clean off the ground.

She said to do his worst.

Poe sets her down, keeping her close for just a moment longer.

Some things aren't so bad about this place. Some things, he understood enough to bring the technology home. (He doesn't catch the thought in time to remind himself that home is a thousand years behind them.)

"Welcome back."

[realists]

Jyn feels the air whoosh out of her lungs when Poe sweeps her up and she's surprised by the time that he sets her down that he hasn't spun her around. His arms are strong and tight around her and she doesn't mind, honestly, but she's never going to admit that to Poe. She's going to be stubborn until the very last.

"Thanks." Oddly, she is glad to be back. Glad to still be with Cassian and her friends. It's a little like feeling at home with the crew of Rogue One. This can be Rogue Two.

"Don't let this go to your head."

[volitaunt]

"Too late." He plants a kiss on Jyn's forehead and then pulls back, hands up, grinning. "You wouldn't kill a guy who almost died once this week already, would you?"

[realists]

"I did die, I'll do whatever I want." Which right now is shoving him away because hey! Hugging only. Her nose scrunches up and automatically she lifts her hand to rub the heel of it across her forehead as if she can wipe off the affection.

"You don't get to do that again."

elsa ( closed )

[realists]

Eventually Jyn makes it home to her roommate, scooping up the bunny from the back yard to bring her inside and let her hop and sniff around the kitchen as she makes herself dinner, waiting for Elsa to return from her shift at the bank. Admittedly "dinner" is a Kid's Cuisine meal because she wants the comfort food of chicken nuggets and still half frozen mac & cheese.

Instead of being an adult, she sits on the floor to eat, leaning against the refrigerator and letting the floppy-eared rabbit gambol over her legs like they're an obstacle course. Occasionally she has to pluck up her beer and move it away so it doesn't wind up spilled all over the floor. The radio is on, the fan is humming from the living room, it's almost sort of idyllic.

When she hears the knob turning, she looks up, watching Elsa slip into their shared home. "Hey."

[dendrites]

Oddly enough, it feels to her as if there have been stranger, even more traumatic weeks in her life. Sadly, she cannot remember for the life of her what transpired then. The attack and the subsequent reveal of her ( new ) home's nature have certainly and greatly upset her but Elsa somehow manages not to lose it. Just barely. It's like stretching muscles for the first time in a while, exercising control over these powers. These powers that she surely must have grown up with, considering how easily some of it comes to her now. ( Less so when face to face with a beast tbh. )

It would be nice to return to real life but she hasn't a bloody clue what that is anymore, so she ventures out to see if anyone needs help.

When she returns, she unintentionally drops her purse on the floor, falling at the same time her jaw does at the sight of Jyn sitting there. All is silent, though she surely feels tears forming on her eyelashes.

[realists]

Oh Elsa.

Jyn's heart twists uncomfortably when she sees the brightness forming in her roommate's eyes and she scrambles to her feet, spry for someone so recently dead. For the second time. The food and drink get set aside on the counter before Jyn steps forward to the woman she shares a house with.

Maybe her first friend outside of the people from her own home, honestly.

"I'm okay." She hadn't tried to reassure Cassian of that fact, partly because she knew he could see right through her. A lot of this is not okay, but the other option is home where she is most definitely dead, and here she has Cassian and Leia and Poe. And Elsa. Okay is okay.

[dendrites]

Her instinct tells her to throw her arms around the shorter woman and pull her into a hug, but she holds back, not wanting to startle, or worse, harm her. Her posture just stiffens after she stoops to pick her purse up after it slid off her shoulder. Touch is an even bigger issue now and she has erred on the side of caution this far. Anything beyond a simple touch of a hand to a shoulder is just too much for her to think about right now.

"I thought the worst," she whispers, managing to at least hold it together enough to keep those wretched tears at bay. "Are the others ... ?"

[realists]

"The worst isn't... incorrect." There isn't a soft way to mention it, so Jyn decides not to. Elsa already half came to the right conclusion, but as much as Jyn would throw around I'm already dead like it didn't matter, she finds it near impossible to actually spit the words out so cavalierly to Elsa.

"Physically they're fine. Poe's girlfriend is in the hospital still." Emotionally, um. Cassian said he forgave her, for her unspecified apology, but she doesn't quite believe him. He'd watched her die, she doesn't think that is something he's going to get over very quickly. "Cassian's going to stay here tonight."

the adlers ( closed )

[realists]

Jyn isn't used to caring enough to bother checking on people, it's a weird sensation and she doesn't really like it. She'd barely had time to get used to caring about Bodhi and Baze and Chirrut and well, she didn't have to care for very long. For the most part, the people she wonders about are all in the same vicinity: her home, Cassian's home, the end.

But she'd been working on the puzzles for Mary, so it doesn't make sense to not stop by, even if she half wishes she had BB-8 on hand to show Mary. No, she will leave that delight for Poe, the one that can properly translate for a child/droid conversation.

Eventually, a few days after she reawakens, she finds herself knocking on the door, folder of math puzzles and problems and intricate tessellation tiles and a few blank square grids for the mandalas Jyn learned to paint as a teenager tucked under her arm. She knocks once, sharp and loud.

"It's Jyn!"

[computative]

Mary doesn't know that Jyn died. If Frank knew, he'd done a good job of keeping her mostly sheltered from the carnage of those few days. He'd gotten her to safety in a red wagon filled with cats. And for the most part, she probably seemed a bit unfazed by it all, minus the fact she was a bit clingy to Frank and wasn't nearly as eager to go outside as she usually was.

However, that doesn't stop her from yelling, "I've got it!!!!" and charging towards the front door when she hears someone knocking on it, despite Frank's new rule of her not answering the door.

And when she sees Jyn, she smiles brightly because she knows who this is and she likes her very much. "Hi, Jyn!"

[realists]

On her better days, Jyn is just a surly, solemn creature. Very few people are graced with her smiles or carefree moments -- a grand total of maybe five whole people. But every single time she sees Mary, Jyn melts into a puddle of affection and a smile spreads across her expression as she looks down at the tiny blonde.

She is tough as nails! She is fierce and strong and powerful.

"Hi, sunshine." Her weakness for children is A Problem. She is weak. "I brought you some puzzles. Is your Frank home?" Not that she won't give Mary the puzzles if she's with her babysitter, but she probably won't ask to come in if Frank isn't home.

[computative]

Mary likes Jyn's smile. It's a friendly smile. And it helps that Frank seems to like her. Mary hasn't been given to feel any sort of jealousy, yet. Jyn is her friend first (right? right?).

Mary brightens at the mention of puzzles, distracted enough by them that she barely hears Jyn's question about Frank. "Oh, yeah, he's home," she says, looking up at Jyn almost expectantly, eager to try out these puzzles. "Let me ask if you can come over."

She pivots, twisting her torso in that way that only little kids can. "FRANNNNNK. FRANK-- Can Jyn come over? She brought me puzzles!!!"

caroline ( closed )

[realists]

It's only about 12% stubbornness that stops Jyn from admitting that she and Cassian are all but married, the rest is fear because her life doesn't exactly give her a lot of faith in relationships. She's had a downright terrible track record so far, but Cassian does keep coming back for her so she wants to give doing it properly a short.

Hence why she gave in to Caroline's help in the first place.

Now she's sitting on the front steps of Cassian's house, waiting for Caroline to decorate the backyard for her date and rethinking very many of her life choices as she flips through the handful of Polaroid photos that fell off the fridge when she went to put the pie away. This backwater place can be garbage, but Jyn appreciates getting Poe and Leia out of the deal. The little toy cat she'd been given by the town -- affectionately called K3 -- tips off the front steps and into the hedges just in time for Jyn to look up and notice Caroline coming down the sidewalk, prompting her to stand up.

"Hi."

Re: caroline ( closed )

[coy]

Honestly, her conversation with Jyn had surprised Caroline. She thought that it was pretty firmly established that Jyn and Cassian were a couple, a thing. That was the impression Poe had given her and well... Caroline had eyes. But feelings are complicated and messy and weird, who knew that better than Caroline herself.

If she could play matchmaker, to make things more... solid between the two, she was all for it. Especially if it meant not thinking about her own problems or how much she missed her friends and mother. Or how her own feelings for Poe were confusing.

"Hello," she greets the other woman with bundle of things tucked beneath her arm and a little red wagon of stuff dragged behind her. "Ready to do this? Because I don't do anything half-assed. Also... your robo-cat fell into the bushes..."

[realists]

Oh Force, she has so much stuff. She has a little red wagon full of stuff. Jyn sucks in a deep breath and tries to push out all her immediate regrets. This is why she doesn't date or do relationship type things. Look at all the work involved!

But her father wanted her to be safe and to live her life. If you found a place in the galaxy untouched by war, a quiet life, maybe with a family. If you're happy, Jyn, then that's more than enough. She's listened to her Papa's holomessage more times in the last few days since waking up that she's memorized everything about it and every time she sees her father's soft, broken smile just thinking about her...

She has to try.

At the mention of the toy her hand waves dismissively, idly before she gestures Caroline inside. "Cassian'll find it later." She doesn't say she is ready because she is not, but if she survived to adulthood in the middle of a war she can survive whatever romantic overture Caroline has in store.

[coy]

Caroline doesn't do anything half-assed. Ever. She does everything whole-assed. It may sting a little but you won't regret it, Jyn.

"Okay," she glances at the robot with a little concern because BB-8 has taught her much in the ways of caring for robots. She grabs the wagon by both sides and lifts it effortlessly off the ground, not bothering to hide her vampiric strength anymore. Tongues have to be waggling.

Whatever.

She climbs the steps easily enough. "Hope you're ready for me to put you to work."

[realists]

If it had a personality, Jyn would care more about it but it's really just a drain on the double A batteries.

"Peter blew up our van so I'm out of a job anyway." Which is to say, yes, she is ready to be put to work, even if she has no idea what she is doing or what Caroline has in store.

Caroline is even cuter in person and Jyn can't help the way her eyebrows jump up at the ease that she just... lifts the entire wagon full of stuff like it weighs nothing. There is a difference between knowing and knowing. She scoots around front to push open the door and lead Caroline through the house to the backyard.

"Poe said you were in a coma." So casual.